Differences Between the Excitation-Contraction Coupling Mechanism Between Skeletal and Cardiac Muscles free essay sample

Blueprint the contrasts between the excitation-compression coupling component among skeletal and cardiovascular muscles. Excitation-withdrawal coupling is the blend of the electrical and mechanical occasions in the muscle filaments and is connected by the arrival of calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. (Silverthorn, 2007) In the skeletal muscle, activity potential in the nerves is produced when the substantial engine neurons discharges the synapse acetylcholine (ACh), at the neuromuscular intersection. This starts muscle activity potential which is then transmitted to the t-tubules. Activity potential in the t-tubules prompts the arrival of calcium in the sarcoplasmic reticulum activating muscle compression. In the cardiovascular muscles, the underlying depolarisation in sino-atrial hub starts the activity potential in the muscles. This is then transmitted to T-Tubule which prompts calcium flood from extracellular space. This prompts the sarcoplasmic reticulum discharging calcium which causes the muscle compression. The skeletal muscles need ACh from the substantial engine neuron, all together for skeletal muscle activity potential to start excitation-withdrawal coupling. We will compose a custom article test on Contrasts Between the Excitation-Contraction Coupling Mechanism Between Skeletal and Cardiac Muscles or on the other hand any comparative subject explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page In cardiovascular muscles, the activity potential likewise starts EC coupling, however it begins incautiously in the hearts pace producer cells and spreads by means of hole intersections. (Richard and Pocock, 2006) The skeletal muscles and cardiovascular muscles contrast for the most part in systems by which the depolarisation in the film prompts the arrival of Ca2+. In the skeletal muscle, the T-tubule layer is coupled near the sarcoplasmic reticulum by means of the L-type calcium channel and the ryanodine receptor. In any case, in the heart muscle the Ca2+ enters by means of voltage-gated calcium channels which start a regenerative discharge, through initiation of the Ca2+ delicate ryanodine receptor and this underlying passage triggers further discharge from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. (Rang and Dale, 2003) The system of excitation-compression coupling in the skeletal muscle depends on the ryanodine receptor being initiated to create the Ca2+ from the sarcoplasmic reticulum that is answerable for permitting muscle withdrawal. This is clear of direct coupling between the calcium channels of the T-tubule and the ryanodine receptors of the sarcoplasmic reticulum. The cardiovascular muscles need T-tubules and in this manner, there is no immediate coupling between the plasma film and the sarcoplasmic reticulum. In cardiovascular muscles, the instrument depends on a calcium-prompted calcium discharge, which incorporates the conduction of calcium particles into the cell, causing the further arrival of particles. (Rang and Dale, 2003) The term of activity potential likewise varies for the skeletal and heart muscles. In the skeletal muscles, the activity likely short and finishes as the related jerk withdrawal starts. The jerk compression is short and finishes as the sarcoplasmic reticulum recuperates the Ca2+ that it discharged. In the heart muscle cells, the activity potential is dependable, and Ca2+ continues entering the phone all through the level time frame. Subsequently, the muscle cell compression proceeds until the level closures. In this manner, the cardiovascular muscle withdrawals are about multiple times as long as those of skeletal muscles filaments. (Silverthorn, 2007) The cardiovascular muscle tissue can contract without neural incitement, by means of automaticity and the specific heart muscle cells called pacemaker cells control the planning of constrictions.

Habitual Offender Laws in Alabama Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Routine Offender Laws in Alabama - Essay Example While Erwin Chemerinsky attempts to demonstrate that the three strikes law doesn't generally work and the preposterousness of applying it to the Leandro Andrade and other peaceful offenses, Helland and Tabarrok have assessed that it viably discourages just as cripples both delicate center and bad-to-the-bone guilty parties, by diminishing wrongdoing between 17-20 percent. It is exorbitant since the normal wrongdoer under three strikes law goes through in any event 20 years in jail. All things being equal, it forestalls in any event 31,000 wrongdoings per year by saving lawbreakers off the boulevards for longer terms. Presentation The three strikes law is a law that permits State Courts to force a lifelong incarceration with probability of parole for individuals who have been sentenced for at least three violations of fierce or genuine nature. It was famous during the 1990s however has been scrutinized generally - it doesn't take into account judges to take a gander at the conditions of the case and let the discipline fit the wrongdoing. Conversation It appears that three strikes law is another type of required condemning, and those rules were tossed out of the window by the Supreme Court in 2005 (MSNBC News Website, 2005). Composing against the routine wrongdoers law in California, Harvard graduate and Constitutional Law master Erwin Chemerinsky’s article entitled ‘Is California’s Three Strikes Mandatory Sentencing Law Cruel and Unusual Punishment?’ contends against the Three Strikes Law in the light of three or four cases. Leandro Andrade was condemned to 50 years or two successive terms of 25 years each as a result of taking kids’ tapes on two separate events the all out estimation of which was $153. Since he had two earlier feelings, the appointed authority chose to slap a crime on him-rather than an offense that conveyed an a lot lesser sentence. The primary impulse for change has originated from FAMM or Families Against Ma ndatory Sentencing, which expresses that these laws are unwavering and pass sentence just based on the weight and sort of medication a guilty party has (FAMM, 2012) The Law has plainly settled that horribly unbalanced disciplines are merciless and strange and abuse the Eighth Amendment. In Atkins v. Virginia (2002) the Court had decided that the Eighth Amendment compactly disallows unnecessary authorizations. What is to be taken a gander at is (1) the gravity of the offense and the cruelty of the punishment; (2) sentences forced on different crooks in a similar zone and (3) sentences forced on lawbreakers for a similar wrongdoing submitted in different territories. In Coker v. Georgia (1977) it was decided that the sentence of death recommended for assault was terribly unbalanced and over the top as far as the Eighth Amendment. Likewise in Solem it was contended that to convict a man to life detainment for passing an awful check for $100 and six earlier lighter and peaceful offenses was unlawful and exorbitant. Both the Helm and Andrade cases were peaceful offenses and included sums under $400, which isolates stupendous burglary from trivial robbery. By taking a gander at earlier records, the three strikes law is rebuffing a criminal for earlier offenses for which he has just spent time in jail. It could be maintained if sensible men bolstered the choice, yet no sensible man will. Writing on the side of the three strikes law in Does Three Strikes Deter? Eric Helland and Alex Tabarrok (2007) express that this law was ordered in California in March 1994.

January Update - UGA Undergraduate Admissions

January Update - UGA Undergraduate Admissions January Update We are just over one week from the Regular Decision deadline today, and I am guessing that thousands of students are finishing up the final pieces of the application. As you can see from the last few winter weather days, you never know when something odd might cause a delay in taking care of your application, from a power outage, school being closed, a bout of the flu (stay healthy out there!) or something else entirely. As such, I heavily suggest that anyone who is working on their application not wait until the day of the deadline to submit your application! We have just under 17,000 total applications in so far, and we expect the next two weeks to be busy handling applications, documents, test scores, phone calls, etc. After you apply, please be patient with us as we match up your documents. When you request a test score or document to be sent to UGA, it does not get sent instantly, and we need time to match up items. We generally suggest giving us 8-10 business days between the item being sent out and it posting on the myStatus. As well, if you had items sent to us prior to applying, it takes a while to hand match these items, especially with the volume of applications being submitted around the deadline. We have given you until January 22 to send in supporting materials (postmark or electronic submission date), and we will be accepting the January SAT as the last exam date, so we will be taking test scores through about mid-February. The best thing to do after applying and having all items sent is to monitor the myStatus page and to be patient with us. If, after 8-10 business days, the item(s) are still not showing and you have made sure they were sent, you can then contact us to check on the situation. I hope this helps, and Go Dawgs! January Update - UGA Undergraduate Admissions January Update From January 1 through January 22 we have received approximately 4,100 documents from Parchment/Docufide, 2,400 transcripts from GAcollege411 and 8,000 teacher recommendations and high school evaluations from our online forms. Thats 14,500 documents in 22 days! This does not include documents that were mailed in, emailed to admproc@uga.edu or emailed to individual counselors. We are working vigorously to match documents with files and as you can imagine we are quite busy. Documents are being matched as quickly as possible, but this takes time given the large number we have received recently. Please be patient with us. Remember, it takes about 8 to 10 business days for us to match a document to your file once we have received it. If you still have not submitted material from the high school, you should do so as soon as possible! We will continue to accept material from the school at least through the end of January. Because we have received a large number of First Year transcripts given the application deadline, we will begin reviewing summer transfer applications a little later this year. We will likely begin to review summer transfer students in mid February. Once we have finished reviewing all summer transfer applicants, we will begin to review fall transfers. Applications are reviewed in the order in which they are completed, not the order received. For a transfer application to be complete we must receive your application, application fee, and a transcript from each college/university you have attended (including dual enrollment). We will continue to post additional updates as they become available. Go Dawgs!

Life Is A Never Ending Learning Experience - 936 Words

Life is a never-ending learning experience. Our friends and family teach us through positive experiences; and, our enemies with negative ones. To this regard, I owe one of my most defining experiences to my enemy—myself. This experience reflects my bad judgments that disregarded rationality, civility, and compassion and gave into contempt, hatred, and maliciousness. As a 16-year-old attending a prestigious college with a full scholarship, I was consumed by a false sense of pride, maturity, and character; and I failed to realize my shortcomings until I was embroiled in a long, daunting, and emotionally exhaustive investigation that resulted in my suspension from Middlebury. Though my suspension has affected my timely graduation and reputation, the benefits that I have gained from it makes the costs negligible. My suspension has not only allowed me to reassess my values and character but it has allowed me to emerge as a better person with a stronger self-perception and concern f or others. I realized early on that I was very different from most Middlebury students. From my low-income upbringing to a relatively young age, my meaning of life in college also differed. While my peers used their time to explore emotionally and academically, I planned the steps that would position me as a strong applicant for medical school. However, in my second year, I met ‘Jane.’ Jane was the one person whom I believed to be superior to me on all levels. She was a smart, cheerful, and a charmingShow MoreRelatedReflection Paper1050 Words   |  5 Pages Reading and writing is a fundamental part of our learning experience. 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For instance, there are twoRead MoreEssay On Online Marketing921 Words   |  4 PagesThis is a true story. So, my co-worker and I are sitting in the van at work brainstorming about how we can make more money and have our happy ending. We also had a heart to heart discussion on how we are going to retire on Social Security and our pension and keep up our style of living. We quickly concluded that it was not possible. Ever the optimist (me) and ever the realist (her), we started to look online for answers since that is where the solution to everything can be found these days. OpeningRead MoreHow Google Really Making Us Stupid?961 Words   |  4 Pages Is Google really making us stupid or life without google going to making us stupid. In my opinion, I believe that Google isn’t making us stupid, but smarter. 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The monster in the book details his suffering in greater detail, is more eloquent and persuasive and also experiences a more tragic ending, and as a result the reader feels more sympathy towards him than an audience member would feel towards the monster in the play. The greater detail provided by the book about the monster’s experiences allows the reader to sympathize with the monster more so than an audience member. When the Frankenstein monster is retelling the storyRead MoreEssay on Growth and Prosperity539 Words   |  3 Pagesbut we can control how we embrace our never ending journey. As American anthropologist, educator, and writer, Loren Eiseley, once said â€Å"To grow is to gain, an enlargement of life†¦Yet it is also a departure. There is something lost that will not return.† Eiseley looked at life as a continuous advance, to make each day better then the last. He also notices that with every gain there is a lose, whether it be youth, innocence, or even lost moments. The key to life is to not ponder on the lost momentsRead MoreAnalysis Of The Little Mermaid 1478 Words   |  6 Pageswhich leads to the unlikely fairytale ending. The fairytale can also be called a parody of conventional fairytales hidden as one itse lf. In an essay by Vladimir Propp, he explains how when the ending turns out to be tragic, the expectations of the readers are reversed (Propp 79). The parody and irony led to a somewhat of a contradiction between a fairytale and a sad love story. However, the difference between a traditional fairytale and the little mermaid s ending, I believe allows for a sense of tragedyRead MorePeople Often Say That Short Stories Are Incomplete, Completely1020 Words   |  5 PagesPeople often say that short stories are incomplete, completely vague and leave the reader wondering. So if the author gives the reader an incomplete ending, will the reader ever know what truly happened to the characters? Most likely the answer is no. 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Synopsis Of The s The Great Gatsby By F. Scott...

â€Å"This is one of the stupidest plans you’ve ever had. Have you even thought this through?† You shook your head in disbelief and glared at a very annoyed Bellamy. â€Å"If you don’t like my plan, why are you here?† Bellamy sassed, rolling his dark chocolate eyes in your direction. â€Å"Pairing two kids who only agreed to get those supplies was that they wanted to use those guns! They literally hate each other’s guts!† â€Å"Well no one asked you to speak, Y/N.† Bellamy responded, not bothering to show you that he was listening to what you were saying and turned around with a smug expression plastered on his face. Bellamy definitely agreed with you on this but Kaleb and Sebastian were the only ones individually willing to go and bring back the supplies†¦show more content†¦You try to hate him, but if you were honest with yourself, you’d say that you have feelings for the handsome rebel leader. The waterfall was truly magical. It looked as though it had a secret door leading to the ocean when you stare at the aquarium blue water pounding down onto the rocks. If the water wasn’t ice cold, you’d without a doubt be floating in the blissful rock pool at the bottom. The flowers that grew on the land surrounding the waterfall were a creamy violet which smelt of sour wild berries. You head over towards a large flat rock and sat down on it to relax your legs from the long journey from camp. The rock was dented and smooth which made it extra comfortable to sit on. A little while later, you heard rustling on the sand behind you. Instinctively, you slowly slide your hands down your sides and reach your knife, taking it out of its holder which was attached to your belt for convenience for such times like this. You quickly jump off the rock and spin yourself to face†¦ Bellamy? â€Å"I thought you were a grounder, asshole.† You place your hand on your chest in an attempt to slow your fast heartbeat, putting your knife back in its holder with the other. â€Å"I should’ve said something...† â€Å"You do realise I came here to get away from you, right?† â€Å"I figured†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Bellamy let out in a whisper feeling more hurt by your comment than he expected. You raise your eyebrows at him for him to explain himself. â€Å"Do you remember when we

Social Responsibility, Consumerism, and the Marketing Concept Free Essays

string(83) " consideration of the relationship between their own needs and product attributes\." SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, CONSUMERISM, AND THE MARKETING CONCEPT Robert D. Winsor, Loyola Marymount University ABSTRACT This paper compares the often-criticized â€Å"selling orientation† or â€Å"selling concept† with the commonly-praised â€Å"societal marketing concept â€Å"from the perspectives of consumer rationality and persuasibility. It is suggested that both orientations view consumers as relatively irrational and as easily prone to manipulation by marketers. We will write a custom essay sample on Social Responsibility, Consumerism, and the Marketing Concept or any similar topic only for you Order Now The implications of this similarity are explored from the perspectives of consumerism and social responsibility. INTRODUCTION Critics of marketing have consistently attacked the discipline for discounting consumers’ intelligence and capacity for rational choice and for deliberately confounding consumers in their efforts to make rational, informed, unbiased, and free economic choices. At the same time, societal trends have pushed U. S. businesses in the direction of increasing concern for social issues and attention to long-run consumer welfare. The aforementioned criticisms and pressures for increasing social responsibility are largely driven by the same social paradigms and constituents. Yet, it is noteworthy that the ultimate result of an expanded social responsibility of business is the concomitant diminishment of free consumer choice. Moreover, this obstruction of consumer discretion is the inevitable consequence of presumptions of consumer irrationality. Thus, while groups such as consumerists have often criticized marketers explicitly for rejecting notions of consumer rationality, these same groups and sentiments have forcefully promoted the social responsibility of business and the societal marketing concept as advancements in business thought and practice. As a result, contradictions can be seen to exist within the consumerist agenda, and are apparent (but unacknowledged) in the â€Å"societal marketing concept† and calls for increasing the responsibility of business toward social issues and concerns. The goal of this paper is to expose these contradictions and to elaborate upon their implications for business and society in general. THE EVOLUTION OF THE MARKETING CONCEPT In January of 1960, the marketing discipline entered a new age. In this year, we were presented with no ground-breaking theory, no pioneering methodology, no brilliant adaptation of another discipline’s construct, and no monumental grant. We were, however, given something we would come to treasure much more highly than any of these. We were provided a raison d’etre and a philosophical foundation. It was on this date that the Journal of Marketing published an article by Robert Keith (1960) entitled â€Å"The Marketing Revolution. And, since its publication, marketers have been able to feel justified in believing that their efforts were not only indispensable, but that they have been instrumental in bringing about sweeping improvements in the evolution of business practice. Although the revolution described by Keith has been tamed to become the â€Å"evolution† of the marketing concept, and the generalizablity of the evolution it described has been questioned by some (e. g. Fullerton, 1988), the transformation in American busi ness described by Keith’s model has nonetheless served as a source of explanation and justification for marketing academicians. The â€Å"post-evolution† marketers have been lent a degree of dignity and a sense of purpose which was conspicuously lacking before. Prior to this date, marketers were perceived to be at best superfluous, and at worst dishonest or unscrupulous. Not that the average citizen considers marketing in any different light today, but the belief in an evolution of the marketing concept has allowed the academic marketing community a certain degree of self-respect. In his article, Keith described four â€Å"eras† or periods of thought and practice through which his organization, The Pillsbury Company, progressed. Keith believed that these eras were characteristic of most businesses which were contemporaries of Pillsbury, and thus speculated that an overall movement was in evidence. Since the publication of Keith’s article, other writers have modified, refined, and extended the basic thesis advancing this evolutionary process: The most noteworthy and well-known of these descriptions is that of Philip Kotler. Kotler describes five alternative concepts or philosophies through which most businesses have evolved. Although any given business can operate under any of the philosophies, the underlying precept of the evolution thesis is that these philosophies form a hierarchy, with later philosophies being superior to those of earlier eras (Keith, 1960; Kotler, 1994). The implication is that to move from a lower level (earlier) philosophy to that on a higher level (later) is not only insightful, but also good business. The first eras or business philosophies are termed the â€Å"product† and the â€Å"production† concepts. The product concept emphasizes product quality and/or performance, and assumes that at least some consumers are knowledgeable enough to recognize and respect superior attributes in these areas. The production concept focuses upon systems for producing large volumes of products in an effort to drive down costs by exploiting economies of scale. This philosophy is based upon the assumption that most consumers not only recognize, but prefer high value (benefits – price) offerings and are knowledgeable and rational in selecting among alternative products. A later era is known as the selling concept, and is based upon the premise that consumers are relatively uninformed regarding product attributes, or base their selection upon fashion or other â€Å"non-rational† criteria. Moreover, this orientation assumes that consumers are easily influenced. As a result, organizations employing the selling concept typically resort to aggressive selling and promotional efforts, with the goal of seducing or coercing customers into purchasing the product. A considerably higher plane of enlightenment is represented by the marketing concept era. The marketing concept is considered to be a quantum leap up the evolutionary hierarchy, and continues to be embraced by a great number of marketing scholars and businesses. The marketing concept â€Å"holds that the key to achieving organizational goals consists in determining the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than competitors† (Kotler, 1994, p. 18; 1977a). The motto of the marketing concept is â€Å"find a need and fill it,† and its credo is â€Å"The Customer is King. Like the product and production concepts, but unlike the selling concept, the marketing concept is founded upon the assumption that consumers are knowledgeable, intelligent, and rational, and base their product purchases upon a careful consideration of the relationship between their own needs and product attributes. You read "Social Responsibility, Consumerism, and the Marketing Concept" in category "Essay examples" As a resul t, the fundamental premise of the marketing concept becomes a focus on the consumer as the pivotal point for all business activity (Barksdale and Darden, 1971). The thinking underlying the marketing concept was espoused as early as the 1940’s and 1950’s (Samli, Palda, and Barker, 1987; Bell and Emory, 1971). In 1958 the term â€Å"marketing concept† was coined to describe the philosophy behind this approach (see McKitterick, 1958), and â€Å"by 1965 practically all introductory marketing texts included some discussion of the ‘new’ marketing concept† (Bell Emory, 197 1). The reason that the marketing concept was considered a major breakthrough in business philosophy is that it represented the antithesis of the product, production, and selling concepts. Rather than taking an existing product and endeavoring to modify demand for it by adding features, reducing price, or varying promotional technique, the marketing concept holds that businesses should first determine the existing needs in the marketplace and then design and produce a product to satisfy this need. In this sense the marketing concept is driven by the needs of the marketplace, rather than the existing abilities of the firm. The fifth, and supposedly highest stage of evolution in marketing philosophies is what Kotler terms the societal marketing concept. In each of his writings referencing the marketing concept, Kotler (1972, 1977b, 1994) clearly states his belief that the societal marketing concept embodies a higher and more enlightened plane of marketing thought and practice, and suggests that this new concept represents an attempt to harmonize the goals of business to the occasionally conflicting goals of society. As such, it postulates that the â€Å"the organization’s task is to determine the needs, wants, and interests of target markets and to deliver the desired satisfactions more effectively and efficiently than competitors in a way that preserves or enhances the consumer’s and society’s well-being (Kotler, 1994, p. 29). It should be noted that the societal marketing concept is founded upon one dominant and critical proposition. This is the assumption that â€Å"consumers’ wants do not always coincide with their long-run interests or society’s long-run interests,† and that, given this, marketers should place the â€Å"emphasis on ‘long-run consumer and societal well being† (Kotler, 1977b). As a result, the societal marketing concept represents an endorsement and justification for the social responsibility of business in contemporary society, and a refutation of Milton Friedman’s infamous assertion that â€Å"the social responsibility of business is to make a profit† (Friedman, 1962). THE CONSUMERISM MOVEMENT AS THE CATALYST FOR THE SOCIETAL MARKETING CONCEPT The latest consumerism movement is a cause that has been accumulating momentum for over 30 years in the U. S. , and its disciples assert that all consumers have an inherent right to products which are: safe in use (and even misuse), effective for the use designed, economical, reliable, honestly labeled and advertised, and benign in their impacts upon the environment. Moreover, consumerists have been very proactive in seeing that these â€Å"rights† are guaranteed to individual consumers, either by the firms selling the products, or by the government of this country. Adherents of consumerism tend to believe that businesses are so overwhelmingly motivated by the desire to make a profit that they commonly compromise the quality of the product offerings, thereby jeopardizing the safety of consumers. Consumerists cite examples of this â€Å"greed,† such as the Beech-Nut case involving the sale over 10 years of millions of cases of â€Å"apple juice† which was in reality only sweetened, flavored water (Business Week, 1988). The fact that such a large number and variety of these cases exist and continue to be exposed on a regular basis lends a great deal of credibility to the consumerism movement and its underlying assumptions. In explaining the rise of consumerism, Peter Drucker blamed the marketers for failing their consumers and publics in using the marketing concept: We have asked ourselves where in the marketing concept consumerism fits or belongs. I have come to the conclusion that, so far, the only way one can really define it within the total marketing concept is as the shame of the total marketing concept. It is essentially a mark of failure of the concept†¦ (Drucker, 1969) This quote is now famous to marketing practitioners, scholars, and critics alike, and the legitimacy of Drucker’s view is generally conceded. In the same year that Drucker made this accusation, Business Week (1969) also asserted that â€Å"In the very broadest sense, consumerism can be defined as the bankruptcy of what the business schools have been calling the ‘marketing concept. â€Å"‘ These condemnations of the marketing concept reflected a general assumption within both the business and academic spheres regarding the implications of consumerism’s growing popularity. A substantial portion of scholars and managers surveyed in 1971, for example, believed that the rise in consumerism was a direct reflection of the inadequacy of the marketing concept (Barksdale and Darden, 1971). As the presumed response to the failure of the marketing concept, then, the consumerist movement became the foundation for â€Å"a revised marketing concept† which Kotler (1972) proposed as the successor to the â€Å"failed† marketing concept. As in earlier stages of the marketing philosophy evolution, the â€Å"societal marketing concept† was ostensibly constructed upon the ruins of its immediate predecessor. Since the most recent consumerist movement in the U. S. served as the catalyst for today’s conceptualization and implementation of the societal marketing concept, it would seem important to understand the modern origins of this movement. ORIGINS OF THE MODERN CONSUMERISM MOVEMENT Writing in 1987, the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide described one car as â€Å"perhaps the most sophisticated (certainly one of the most ambitious) cars ever to come from Detroit† (Langworth and Robson, 1987, p. 51). These authors went on to proclaim that these were â€Å"the kind of cars we should have had in the 1970’s, and didn’t. The car was the Chevrolet Corvair of the 1960’s, and its conspicuous absence in the 1970’s was the direct result of what many consider to be both consumerism’s explosive postwar debut and also its finest hour. Indeed, the tomb of the Corvair became the foundation of consumerism as we know it today. While business historianâ€℠¢s (e. g. , Halberstam, 1986) are eager to criticize Detroit’s apparent indifference and ineptitude regarding the 1970’s invasion of small, economical automobiles from foreign countries and the oil crisis which precipitated this invasion, this blame has been clearly misplaced and undeserved. In 1959, General Motors, acknowledging an existing need in the marketplace for a small, inexpensive, sporty, and fuel-efficient automobile, designed and marketed a vehicle to fill this need. This automobile, the Corvair, was indeed revolutionary in many respects, having four-wheel independent suspension, a rear-mounted air-cooled six-cylinder engine, the option of turbo-charging (a first), and an exhaust system design which would be used on a majority of automobiles for years to come. Both the Corvair and its functional, but considerably more primitive predecessor, the Volkswagen Beetle, were designed, built, and marketed with the highest regard for the marketing concept–offering lower-income consumers the opportunity to own an economical, reliable, and fun-todrive automobile. Both cars were strong sellers, and appeared to satisfy a number of preexisting needs in the marketplace. In 1960, Consumer Reports praised the Volkswagen for its good workmanship, and handling and roadability which were â€Å"well ahead of the U. S. average†. Additionally, about the worst thing that Consumer Reports could find to say about the Corvair was a remark about its â€Å"unimpressive trim quality† (cf. Abernathy, Clark, and Kantrow, 1983). Unfortunately for many consumers, Ralph Nader would use these cars as a catapult for his career, and in so doing, would become synonymous with the consumerism movement. In 1965 he wrote a book entitled Unsafe at Any Speed, in which he criticized General Motors as being irresponsible, greedy, and unconcerned for the public’s safety. Nader used the Corvair as the book’s primary example, developing an elaborate, scathing, but also relatively misplaced criticism of the Corvair. Due to the negative publicity which the book generated, the book dealt a death blow to the Corvair, which immediately began a downward sales spiral toward its eventual extinction in 1969. Inspired by the â€Å"success† of Unsafe at Any Speed, an equivalently brutal and faulty criticism of the Volkswagen Beetle was written in 1971 by a colleague and ally of Nader, and was entitled Small—On Safety (Dodge, 197 1). Since, by the time of this book’s publication, millions of Volkswagens were on the road and were well-regarded as providing reliable, economical, and serviceable transportation, the book failed to achieve any credibility, and did little harm to Volkswagen’s sales. What should have been evident to readers of either book and to consumers in general, but was perhaps not appreciated until much later, was that it was physically impossible to construct a small economy car which was as safe as the leviathan Cadillacs, Lincolns, and Chryslers of the same period. Had a well-designed car such as the Honda Civic (or any other contemporary compact automobile) been introduced into the market in the 1960’s, it too would have certainly been labeled as unsafe, and forced off the market. THE SOCIETAL MARKETING CONCEPT AND THEORY X The societal marketing concept is largely congruent with the â€Å"multiple constituency model of organizations† (Kimery and Rinehart, 1998), and general notions of the responsibility or obligation of businesses to social and environmental stakeholders. Contrasted to the marketing concept or orientation, which posits the direct and simple relationship between organizational profitability and responsiveness to customer needs and concerns, the societal marketing concept or multiple constituency model suggests that success is highly dependent upon an organization’s attentiveness to all constituencies simultaneously (Kimery and Rinehart, 1998). Yet due to the common opposition between immediate consumer needs and long-term societal and individual needs, the simultaneous â€Å"satisfaction† of all of these demands is frequently difficult if not impossible. Moreover, the focus upon â€Å"un-stated† or long-term customer needs and a concomitant discounting of stated consumer desires have distinct overtones of corporate or governmental paternalism and the assumptions of producer or governmental sovereignty, which this perspective necessarily implies. In short, where the marketing concept is the economic equivalent of the democratic process, the societal marketing concept is antithetical to the tenets of democratic equality and more comparable to economic fascism. In an eloquent paper outlining the conceptual foundations of his societal marketing concept, Kotler adapted Douglas McGregor’s managerial â€Å"Theory X / Theory Y† to illustrate alternative perspectives of customers (Kotler, 1977b). According to McGregor, Theory X managers view their employees as being lazy, ignorant, gullible, suspicious, and disloyal. In contrast, Theory Y managers view their employees as informed, intelligent, motivated, unique, and rational (McGregor, 1957, 1985). In his adaptation, Kotler makes the assertion that businesses subscribing to the philosophy embodied within the societal marketing concept make assumptions about their customers which are consistent with Theory Y (as opposed to Theory X). In other words, Kotler believes that the societal marketing concept is philosophically consonant with a perspective of the consumer as informed, intelligent, and rational, suggesting the higher plane of enlightenment shared by adopters of this concept and alluding to the concept’s supposed capacity for consumer empowerment. Although Kotler makes a valuable contribution in adapting this managerial framework to the marketing discipline, he grossly errs in his interpretation. A far more plausible observation is that the societal marketing concept is solidly built upon Theory X assumptions about consumers on the part of the marketer. According to Kotler (1977b), â€Å"societal marketers are more attuned to the buyers’ unexpressed needs than overexpressed wants,† and place an emphasis upon â€Å"long-run consumer and societal well being. Because of this, the societal marketing concept clearly forces or compels marketers to make judgments about what is â€Å"best† for consumers, and what needs are valid (as opposed to those that are spurious or unwholesome). It is in this way that the societal marketing concept becomes the ultimate subscriber and underwriter to the Theory X mentality. The conceptual foundation of the societal marketing concept (as well as of the consumerism movement) res ts eavily upon the belief that the individual consumer is unable to â€Å"look out for him/herself,† is gullible, ignorant, easily misled, does not know what is actually in his/her own best interest, and thus needs to be protected from powerful and unscrupulous marketers. In this way, the belief that the role of the marketer is to interpret what is â€Å"best† for society and individuals necessitates the assumption that individuals do not and cannot know what is best for themselves. Nor is this an overstatement of the societal marketing concept’s goals and assumptions. Bell and Emory (1971, p. 40), proponents of this concept, assert that â€Å"The typical consumer is at such a disadvantage that he cannot assure his own effectiveness. Business has the responsibility to help him, and if business fails then the government or other parties must act on the consumer’s behalf. † In addition, in circumstances â€Å"where the buyer is unwilling or unable to make rational decisions,† Bell and Emory believe that â€Å"It is the duty of business to promote proper consumption values† (Bell Emory, 197 1, p. 40, emphasis added). Yet these are precisely the â€Å"paternalistic† attitudes which characterize the Theory X â€Å"manager† according to McGregor. The fact that some consumers may choose to buy a subcompact automobile because they prefer economy over a certain degree of safety, or that some choose to subsist on McDonald’s hamburgers, fries and milkshakes despite their â€Å"unhealthfullness† does not imply that these individuals are stupid, or gullible, or that they need to be â€Å"enlightened† by consumerism or societal marketing techniques, This is in fact the precise point at which the â€Å"evolution† of the marketing concept breaks down. The marketing concept holds that marketers should strive to supply products for every consumer need, provided these needs are not grossly threatening to society, and that â€Å"any decision the customer makes to serve his own perceived selfinterest is rational† (Bauer Greyser, 1967). It is thus impossible to interpret the societal marketing concept as anything but a move backward into the period where the selling concept ruled–where consumers were â€Å"ignorant,† â€Å"irrational,† and easily anipulated by more insightful marketers. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS While consumerists and other critics of the selling concept regularly and loudly chastise business organizations for employing marketing strategies and campaigns which are ostensibly based upon assumptions of consumer ignorance and irrationality, these same guardians of consumer interest are typically synonymous with those pushing organizations most forcefully into programs of social responsibilit y and the societal marketing concept. Yet, as noted above, the agenda of social responsibility in business is clearly based upon assumptions of equal (or even greater) degrees of consumer ignorance and irrationality. Disciples of the societal marketing concept appear to be largely oblivious to the relatively absurd levels that businesses have been pushed by forces in concert with their agenda. (Witness the warning on McDonald’s coffee cups: â€Å"Caution: HOT! . . . CAUTION: CONTENTS HOT! †¦ Caution: HOT! . . . Caution: HOT! . . . WARNING: HOT! †¦ /! .. † which are combined with a corollary reduction in the temperature of the liquid itself — actions which were necessitated by the infamous multimillion dollar legal claim against the company — a lawsuit which was applauded by numerous consumerist groups. ) But, as Levitt noted in 1958, â€Å"self-conscious dedication to social responsibility may have started as a purely defensive maneuver against strident attacks on big corporations a nd on the moral efficacy of the profit system. But defense alone no longer explains the motive. The motive for corporate social responsibility and the overwhelming push for social responsibility in the pursuit of sales now arises out of the industrial sector’s near-total dependence on social trends and the sentiment of a minority of consumers. Corporations that have been beaten into submission by frivolous lawsuits and that are afraid to arouse consumerist accusations of indifference have been forced to pander to the lowest common denominator of consumer passivity, ignorance, and laziness. As predicted by McGregor, these Theory X attitudes and actions have subsequently bred and reinforced the very passivity, ignorance, and laziness in consumers they were designed to anticipate and amend. Ironically, the similarities between the selling concept and the societal marketing concept regarding their shared assumption of consumer ignorance can be seen as forming the perfect foundation for either societal altruism or, alternatively, opportunistic exploitation. In many cases, these efforts can be difficult to distinguish from one another, and apparent acts of altruism or social responsibility can provide the perfect camouflage for exploitation. Because organizations are rapidly becoming aware of the power of â€Å"greenconsumers,† for example, there is a significant temptation to advance this agenda through the marketing program as a powerful device for cultivating customer loyalty and anesthetizing consumer prudence and vigilance. As Kotler (1994, p. 30) notes, â€Å"a number of companies have achieved notable sales and profit gains through adopting and practicing the societal marketing concept. † One of the two shining examples Kotler cites is The Body Shop, started by Anita Roddick in 1976. This organization has experienced phenomenal sales growth by actively promoting its products as all-natural, environmentally friendly, and non-animal-tested, and its business practices as sociallyconcerned. Moreover, Roddick has frequently and publicly ridiculed other cosmetics companies, noting that they are â€Å"run by men who create needs that don’t exist† (Zinn, 1991). Indeed, The Body Shop became in the 1980’s the prototype that all â€Å"earth-friendly† businesses would seek to emulate. As the vanguard of social responsibility, The Body Shop and its founder became the beneficiary of huge volumes of positive publicity, international acclaim, and consumer goodwill. Yet recent explorations into The Body Shop’s products and business practices have found elements which yield a stark contrast to the public images and perceptions noted above. Products of the company have been found to be largely petrochemical-based and of relatively poor-quality, and a large proportion of them have been tested on animals. In addition, the â€Å"socially-enlightened† business practices of this company have been exposed as creative public relations efforts, and the FTC has nvestigated the firm for fraudulent business dealings (Entine, 1993; Buszka, 1997). Clearly, it must inevitably be those organizations which are encouraged to view their consumers as ignorant or irrational that can and will most easily extend that notion to discover opportunities for exploiting that ignorance and irrationality. It is for this reason that those espousing the societal marketing concept and the social responsibility of business can be seen as the greatest danger to consum er sovereignty and consumer welfare. As Lord Acton observed, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Yet it is a corollary rule that in reducing one individual’s power, all others with whom that person deals have their relative power increased. By forcing consumers into the roles of ignorant, helpless, and mindless children in need of protection and corporate welfare, advocates of the societal marketing concept have liberated consumers from both responsibility and power, and have concomitantly made business more powerful. REFERENCES Abernathy, W. Clark, and Kantrow (1983), Industrial Renaissance; Producing a Competitive Future for America, New York: Basic Books. Bauer, R. and S. Greyser (1967), â€Å"The Dialogue That Never Happens,† Harvard Business Review, (November-December), 186-190. Barksdale, Hiram C. and Bill Darden (1971), â€Å"Marketers’ Attitudes Toward the Marketing Concept,† Journal of Marketing, 35 (October), 28-36. Bell, M. and W. Emory (1971), â€Å"The Falter ing Marketing Concept,† Journal of Marketing 35, (October), (37-42). Business Week (1969), â€Å"Business Responds to Consumerism,† September 6, 95. Business Week (1988), â€Å"What Led Beech-Nut Down the Road to Disgrace,† February 2, 124-127. Buszka, Sharlene (1997), â€Å"A Case of Greewashing: The Body Shop,† in Proceedings of the Association of Management and the International Association of Management l5th Annual International Conference, Organizational Management Division, Volume 15, Number 1, 199-294. Dodge, Lowell (1972), Small–On Safety: The Designed-In Dangers of the Volkswagen, New York: Grossman. Drucker, P. (1958), â€Å"Marketing and Economic Development,† Journal of Marketing, (January), (252-259). _________(1969), Consumerism: The Opportunity of Marketing,† address before the National Association of Manufacturers, New York, April 10, later printed as â€Å"The Shame of Marketing,† Marketing Communications, August, 1969, 60. Entine, Jon (1994), â€Å"Shattered Image: Is the Body Shop Too Good to Be True? † Business Ethics, (September/October). Friedman, Milton (1962) , Capitalism and Freedom, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Fullerton, Ronald A. (1988), â€Å"How Modern is Modern Marketing? Marketing’s Evolution and the Myth of the ‘Production Era,'† Journal of Marketing, 52 (January), 108-125. Halberstam, David (1986), The Reckoning, New York: Avon Books. Keith, R. (1960), â€Å"The Marketing Revolution,† Journal of Marketing, 24(January), 35-3 8. Klein, T. (1979), â€Å"Contemporary Problems, Marketing Theory, and Futures Research,† in Conceptual and Theoretical Developments in Marketing: AMA Proceedings, 258-263. Kimery, Kathryn M. and Shelley M. Rinehart (1998), â€Å"Markets and Constituencies: An Alternative View of the Marketing Concept,† Journal of Business Research, 43, 117-124. Kotler, P. (1977a), â€Å"From Sales Obsession to Marketing Effectiveness,† Harvard Business Review (November-December), 67-75. _______(1972), â€Å"What Consumerism Means for Marketers,† Harvard Business Review, (May-June), 48-57. ________(1977b), â€Å"Considerations In a Theory of Humanistic Marketing,† Working Paper, Graduate School Of Management, Northwestern University. ________(1994), Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, and Control, eig hth edition, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc. ________, and S. Levy, (1969), â€Å"Broadening the Concept of Marketing,† Journal of Marketing, (January), 10-15. Langworth, Richard M. nd Graham Robson (1987), The Complete Book of Collectible Cars, 1930-1980, New York: Beekman House. Levitt, T. (1958), â€Å"The Dangers of Social Responsibility,† Harvard Business Review, 36, 5(September-October), 41-50. _______(1960), â€Å"Marketing Myopia,† Harvard Business Review, (July-August). _______(1977), â€Å"Marketing When Things Change,† Journal of Marketing, (NovemberDecember), 107-113. McGregor, D. (1957), â€Å"The Human Side of Enterprise,† Management Review (November), 22-28. McGregor, D. (1985), The Human Side of Enterprise, New York: McGraw-Hill. McKitterick, J. (1958), â€Å"What is the Marketing Management Concept? † in The Frontiers of Marketing Thought and Science, Chicago: American Marketing Association, 71-82. Nader, Ralph (1965), Unsafe At Any Speed: The Designed In Dangers of the American Automobile, New York: Grossman. Samli, A. , K. Palda, and A. Barker (1987), â€Å"Toward a Mature Marketing Concept,† Sloan Management Review (Winter), 45-5 1. Zinn, Laura (1991), â€Å"Whales, Human Rights, Rain Forests — And the Heady Smell of Profits,† Business Week, July 15, 114-115. How to cite Social Responsibility, Consumerism, and the Marketing Concept, Essay examples

Intra-Industry Trade In Australia Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Intra-Industry Trade In Australia. Answer: Introduction Over the past decades, trade has become an important part of the modern economy. Fundamentally, trade refers to the exchange of services and goods between individuals, firms, and countries. Mainly, trade exists due to specialization and division of labor, whereby individuals and firms specialize in the production of certain goods and services. There are various forms of trade today, among them inter-industry trade and intra-industry trade. Intra-industry trade refers to the trading in similar products that belong to the same sector. In contrast, inter-industry trade (IIT) pertains to the exchange of services and goods that are dissimilar and belong to different sectors. Typically, it is trading between countries where imports and exports consist of different types of commodities. Notably, trade often exists between regions due to the fact that different regions have different resource endowments, hence possess comparative advantages in the production of certain commodities. According to the article Gas curbs will hurt LNG exports and national interests, published in The Australian, Paul Kerin explains how the LNG export restrictions that were imposed by the countrys prime minister will adversely affect intra-industry trade in the Australian economy. The new restrictions impose limitations on IIT in LNG between Australia and its trading partners. Mainly, the decision is based on the fact that LNG imports are more expensive than the exports from the country. In turn, this creates a situation where the local prices for gas are higher than the export prices from the country. Hence, it is viewed that the country is getting worse off due to trading in the product, instead of gaining significant benefits from the trade. For this reason, the government seeks to impose restrictions on the trading of the product in the country. The Concept Intra-Industry Trade Essentially, IIT arises when the Australian economy imports and exports the same type of products and services. Here, the similarity of the product is identified in terms of the sector in which the goods or service belong to (Kerin, 2017). Notably, according to the article, Australia takes part in intra-industry trade of LNG gas. The economy exports gas o countries such as US and Japan and also imports the product from them (Kerin, 2017). Over the years, IIT has become an indispensable part of the functioning of modern economies. The most basic question that arises in this form of trading is why economies of the world partake in the exchange of the same goods and services. Under the traditional economic theory, this form of trade is impossible. In the traditional model, countries engaged exclusively in inter-industry trade in order to partake in the exchange goods and services that were dissimilar. As such, exchange goods and services which the individual economies could not produce on their own due to lack of factor endowments for their production. Profoundly, this model was founded on the concept of comparative advantage, and economies only engage in the manufacturing of services and commodities in which the nation possess a competitive and comparative advantage. However, the concept of IIT allows for the trading of similar goods and services between economies. Primarily, the occurrence of trade in the same commodities can be explained using Paul Krugmans New Trade Theory. According to this theory, countries specialize in the production of services and products in order to take advantage of increasing returns. This model parts from the neoclassical view that nations produce goods and services due to regional endowments. Hence, this allows economies to produce commodities and benefit from the increasing returns that arise from trading in the commodity. More specifically, it permits nations to specialize in the production of certain goods so as to receive returns. In addition to this explanation, the Heckscher-Ohlin-Ricardo model justifies an intra-industry trade on the grounds that nations with identical resources would still engage in an exchange due to dissimilarities in the level of technology (Davis, 1995). Typically, differences in technology between countries result in specialization, thereby allowing for trade to occur between countries. In turn, different countries producing the same product engage in the trade of the product, either homogenous or slightly differentiated. Thus, this gives rise to the concept of the type of IIT which includes the exchange of homogeneous products, horizontally differentiated products or vertically differentiated goods. Today, IIT is held accountable for influencing the unexpectedly huge growth of industrial trade among most economies in the world. In fact, it is responsible for a significantly large proportion of the aggregate international trade among these economies. Types of Intra-industry Trade It is important to distinguish between the types of IIT for products and services within the economy. Horizontal intra-industry trade. Typically, this pertains to the trading in exports and imports that are categorized under one sector. In this type of trade, the commodities traded are at the same stage of processing. For instance, Australia exports natural gas to Japan and the US and also imports the same commodity from the two countries. Thus, the traded product is in the same sector at the same processing stage. Hence, according to Kerins article (2017), the Australian economy is engaging in a horizontal IIT in the import and export of LNG gas with the US and the Japanese economy. Vertical intra-industry trade. Mainly, this form of trade occurs where the exports and imports that are being traded are classified under the same sector, but at different phases of processing. For example, Australia can export crude oil to the US and import petroleum from the same country. Thus, although crude oil and petroleum are classified under the same segment, they are at different phases of production. Characteristically, this kind of trade arises mainly due to the ability of countries divide the manufacturing process into numerous stages, each undertaken at varied locations in order to take advantage of technological factors and local conditions. Characteristics of the trade It is worth noting that intra-industry trade has significantly increased over the past few years among OECD countries. Aside from the types of intra-industry trade, there are various characteristics that are pertinent to this kind of trade. Essentially, the first characteristic pertains to the fact that intra-industry trade is high among economies that are open to trading such that their imports and exports account for a significantly large proportion of their GDP. In this case, this characteristic applies to the Australian economy. Australia is the 22nd largest exporter of goods and services in the world. It is also a major importer (ABS, 2017). Secondly, this trade mainly occurs among economies that possess preferential trade agreements. Notably, the Australian economy is a member of various FTAs and has signed trade agreements with countries such as Korea, Japan, Peru, and China (McGuirik, 2017). In turn, this has increased prospects for two-way investments between the countries as well as improved the competitive position of the countrys exports. Subsequently, this has facilitated intra-industry trade. Thirdly, the trade occurs mainly for sophisticated manufactured commodities such as transport equipment, chemicals, electronics, petroleum, and oil, among others. In this case, the production and processing of oil is a sophisticated process, hereby satisfying this characteristic. Measurement of Intra-industry trade Imperatively, it is crucial to point out that IIT is somehow challenging to measure statistically. Mainly, this can be attributed to the fact categorizing products and industries as the same is mainly based on definitions and classification. However, it is often measured using various indexes such as the Aquino index, the Glesjer index, The Balassa index, the Bergstrand index and Grubel-Lloyd index. Intra-industry Trade and Comparative Advantage It can be argued that just like inter-industry trade, IIT also arises due to the existence of comparative advantage in the production of services and products among nations. Fundamentally, the very definition of IIT suggests that there is a plausible connection between the two concepts in accordance with the Ricardian determinants of trade (FPO, n.d.). However, in this case, IIT represents trading in perfectly intra-industry goods. Besides that, comparative advantage in the production of commodities brings about the need for specialization and learning. As such, firms in different economies develop unique and different skills. The past few years has seen the splitting of specialization in the world economy. Nowadays, this trend is known as splitting up the value chain. Primarily, this describes how the product is manufactured in different stages. This is made possible by the fact that improvements in communication and technology in the world have improved the process of sharing information, thereby making it possible to disintegrate the value chain. Thus, instead of production in a single factory or country, the stages of production are split up among firms in various economies. Given the fact that the value chain is disintegrated, international trade usually involves unfinished products being trade between nations. Additionally, it involves the shipping of specialized good (Intra-industry trade, n.d.). What is more, IIT between similar countries results ineconomics due to the fact that it permits the labor force and firms to innovate and learn particular products by focusing on specified stages of the val ue chain. As a result, trading countries are able to gain significant benefits from this trade. One fundamental reason why Intra-industry trade between nations results ineconomic gains involves economies of scale. Basically, this refers to the condition in which as the scale of production increases, then the average costs of production declines up to a certain degree (Intra-industry trade, n.d.). Thus, countries that possess the advantage of economies of scale have relatively lower costs of production than those economies that produce at lower production rates. In turn, the presence of variations in the degree of economies of scale between trading nations allows for differences in prices between their outputs. Sequentially, this facilitates intra-industry trade between nations. Furthermore, in IIT the level of worker productivity depends largely on how the firms in different countries engage in specific learning about specialized products. At this point, the comparative advantage between countries and firms are dynamic (Krugram, n.d.). As such, they can evolve and change over time as new skills are developed. For this reason, countries are flexible in response to the changes in the comparative advantages between economies. Analysis of the Article Primarily, Paul Kerins article (2017) shades some light to the concept of intra-industry trade in the Australian economy. Predominantly, the article reports the proposed restrictions in the level of exports from the country as announced by Prime Minister Turnbull. According to Kerin, the decision was founded on false premises and ignored fundamental concepts of intra-industry trade thereby ignoring the dynamic consequences of this decision. From the article, one can deduce that Turnbull believes that domestic buyers of LNG paid a significantly higher price for the product than the price at which the product is exported from the Australian economy. For this reason, the Prime Minister was strongly against the Intra-industry trade for the reason that it resulted in capital losses than gains for the domestic economy. Ordinarily, countries and firms engage in trade with other agents in order to receive gains from the trade in the form of increasing returns. Thus, in this case, the basic reason for conducting IIT in gas between Australia and nations like Japan is not achieved. Mainly, this is due to the fact that domestic users of the product are affected by the fact that the local prices for the product in the country are higher than the export price (Intra-industry trade, n.d.). In turn, this implies that the Australian consumers of would be better off if the exports from the country were not exported, but instead diverted to the domestic market. According to the article, the domestic gas prices in the country do not reflect the international prices. More specifically, the domestic prices for the product are higher than the export prices and other international prices in the market. The netback prices of the exports are below the netback price on sales into major domestic destination hubs. Thus, although LNG is a tradable product, it possesses the characteristics of non-tradable resources. Ineconomic theory, a non-tradable product is one whose export price is lower than the domestic costs. In turn, this makes it irrational to sell the product at a lower price in the international market at the expense of the local market. In this regard, Turnbull is justified to advocate for the imposition of restrictions on exports from the country in order to protect domestic consumers from hiked prices. In his report, Turnbull insists that the Australian government is still committed to LNG exports, but this should not be done at the expense of the economys interest. He believes that it is better to save the supply of gas produced in the country in order to lower the local prices for the commodity. Fundamentally, this decision can be supported by economic theory such that it is better to secure lower prices for the product in the country. Predominantly, this is because high gas prices in the country have a ripple effect in the price level of other commodities in the economy because it is used in the production of other goods in the economy. Thus, high local prices for gas would force producers to pay more for the product, causing them to transfer these costs to the prices of their final output. Consequently, high prices of locally produced commodities would further reduce their competitiveness in the international market. In this regard, the decision to restrict exports of gas from the country is largely justified. However, proponents of interindustry trade strongly oppose this move. Instead, they propose that there are better ways to maintain domestic prices low. According to Kerin (2017), the government can control prices through improved regulation of gas pipelines in the country. Essentially, this is due to the fact that it accounts for a significant proportion of domestic end-user prices. In addition, he argues that the government can increase and enable new sources of gas supply in the country, thereby build and enhance the level of competition in the economy. Fundamentally, he proposes that instead of imposing restrictions on exports, restrictions be uplifted. Subsequently, a free market for gas would respond in the form of forces of demand and supply to keep the domestic prices in check. In addition to this, the removal of restrictions would make exports more competitive than imports in the local market. Consequently, this would allow the economy to reap benefits from intra-industry tra de with Japan on gas. It is noteworthy that Turnbull claims that the restrictions are temporary, and would be removed as soon as the domestic conditions in the gas market improve. Contrary to this view, Milton Friedman was of the opinion that most temporary programs initiated by the government are often permanent. For this reason, it would be misguiding to believe that the proposed restrictions would be temporary. Additionally, this also implies that imposing these restrictions on exports may become permanent, thereby worsening the intra-trade conditions in the country over the long term period. In turn, this would lock out the Australian economy from enjoying the benefits associated with intra-industry trade in gas related products. Thus, it is imperative to note that the proposed reductions in the short term prices through the imposition of restrictions on gas exports may work only over the short term period. However, the extension of the policy of the long term period would adversely affect intra-industry trade between Australia and its trading partners, as it would act as a significant barrier to free trade, which is imperative for the system to work. Besides that, this strategy would result in reluctance on the side of the government to initiate better methods to regulate pipelines and increase the supply of the commodity in the country. In turn, this would further worsen the trade conditions in the Australian economy. Profoundly, this would force the Australian economy to forego the benefits associated with free inter-trade and intra-trade in the economy. In this regard, the Australian government should restrict from imposing export restrictions and allow the market to readjust itself. This way, the nation would be able to reap the benefits of conducting in intra-industry trade in gas and associated products. Conclusion It is imperative to point out the fact that international trade has become a fundamental part of the operation of the modem economy. Nowadays, countries and firms take part in inter-industry and intra-industry trade. While inter-industry trade involves the exchange of different goods and services that belong to different sectors, intra-industry trade pertains to the exchange of commodities that are characteristically similar and belong to the same sector (Economics of Free Trade, n.d.). Predominantly, intra-industry trade arises due to the existence of variations in the level of technology, tastes and preferences of the consumers, and comparative advantages arising from economies of scale. Mainly, different countries engage in the production of similar products and trade in them in order to gain from the increasing returns resulting from the trade of these commodities. Thus, just like intra-industry trade, intra-industry trade is equally profitable for countries to engage in (Economi cs of Free Trade, n.d.). Notably, the Australian economy engages in both inter-industry trade and intra-industry trade with other nations. According to the article by Paul Kerin (2017), the economy engages in intra-industry trade in LNG gas. However, recently, the prime minister proposed an imposition of restrictions on the level of gas exports from the country following significantly high prices of imports compared to the low-priced exports from the country. Essentially, this decision would adversely affect the level of intra-industry trade between Australia and Japan, as it would reduce the volume of exports traded in the international market. As a result, this would lock out the economy from receiving the increasing returns associated with trading in the international market. Thus, the government should restrain from imposing the proposed restrictions in order to keep benefitting from the intra-industry trade in the commodity. References Davis, D. R. (1995). Intra-industry trade: A Heckscher-Ohlin-Ricardo approach. Journal of International Economics. 39 (3/4): 201226. Economics of free trade agreements not always black and white. [Online] Drive. Available at https://www.drive.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/economics-of-free-trade-agreements-not-always-black-and-white-zqrt9.html [Accessed 31 May 2017] Grimwade, Nigel (2000). International Trade: New Patterns of Trade, Production Investment (Second ed.). New York: Routledge International Trade. [Online] Australian Bureau of Statistics. Available at https://www.abs.gov.au/international-trade [Accessed 31 May 2017] Intra-industry Trade between Similar Economies. [Online] Open Text Book. Available at https://opentextbc.ca/principlesofeconomics/chapter/33-3-intra-industry-trade-between-similar-economies/ [Accessed 31 May 2017] Kerin, P. (2017). Gas curbs will hurt LNG exports and national interests. [Online] The Australian. Available at https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/gas-curbs-will-hurt-lng-exports-and-national-interests/news-story/8eaa31b4a4cdafb33bc82601023ad80b [Accessed 31 May 2017] Krugman, P. (2017). Australia and Peru to begin negotiating free trade agreement. [Online] Princeton University. Available at https://www.princeton.edu/~pkrugman/Intraindustry.pdf [Accessed 31 May 2017] Krugman, Paul; Obstfeld, Maurice (1991). International Economics: Theory and Policy (Second ed.). New York: Harper Collins. McGuirik, R. (2017). Australia and Peru to begin negotiating free trade agreement. [Online] ABC. Available at https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/australia-peru-begin-negotiating-free-trade-agreement-47580565 [Accessed 31 May 2017] The significance of intra-industry trade as a cause and consequence of global environment: New Zealand and her European, Pacific, and Asian partners. [Online] FPO. Available at https://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Management-International-Review/17415959.html [Accessed 31 May 2017] Why do countries trade? [Online] Economics Online. Available at https://economicsonline.co.uk/Global_economics/Why_do_countries_trade.html [Accessed 31 May 2017].